Jake's ViewKMB losses show we may need to rethink transport pricing
My relatives in Canada have a name for the bus. They call it "the loser cruiser". Bus service for them is substandard and passengers are too frequently pickpockets, drug addicts and people of erratic behaviour.
KMB has applied to the government for an 8.5 per cent fare increase over the next year, after it lost HK$12.5 million in the first six months this year.
My relatives in Canada have a name for the bus. They call it "the loser cruiser". Bus service for them is substandard and passengers are too frequently pickpockets, drug addicts and people of erratic behaviour.
In contrast, I enjoy riding the bus into town from my home in Repulse Bay. It is a pleasure to have a frequent service, clean buses and a gentle, quiet ride. But KMB's predicament suggests we may need a complete rethink of transport pricing.
The Transport Department thought it had this problem solved some years ago with a fare-setting formula that was based on taking half the increase in the overall consumer price index and half of the increase in transport workers' wages, less a small factor for increased productivity.
But this never reflected the true cost of bus operations. It takes no account, for instance, of fuel costs and bus purchase costs. It also ignores operating conditions.